


The Boy Next Door

by obsessivemuch



Category: Power Rangers Mystic Force
Genre: Ballad of a Teenage Queen, Confessions, F/M, First Kiss, Friendship/Love, Gotta Have Cash - Johnny Cash Ficathon, Reunion, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-06
Updated: 2006-07-06
Packaged: 2017-10-28 15:41:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/309434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsessivemuch/pseuds/obsessivemuch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Madison comes home to Briarwood for the first time in years and learns that there's more to Xander than what she sees.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Boy Next Door

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NeoVenus22](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoVenus22/gifts).



> Challenge: "Gotta Have Cash" ficathon - The Johnny Cash Ficathon on LJ
> 
> Song: Ballad of a Teenage Queen by Johnny Cash
> 
> Dedication: To NeoVenus22 – a semi-belated birthday fic (I think a post-series future fic was on your list?) and also the dearest friend and idea-bouncy person ever. Also, I owe gratitude to the kids of the PR Fic IRC chatroom because they kept me entertained while I was working.

_Hollywood could offer more_

 _So she left the boy next door working at the candy store_

 _She came back to the boy next door who worked at the candy store_

Going home to Briarwood was something Madison had always looked forward to doing when she could get away – this vacation was the first time she had been able to get away in months. Ever since she had won the lead prize at Cannes for her documentary, Rising Stars, she had gone from a girl behind a camera to a respected filmmaker practically overnight. The overwhelming success of the documentary at the box office had led to hundreds of documentary suggestions and several offers from movie studios. Twenty-five years old, Madison had the world at her feet and didn't know what to do with any of it. It was one of the reasons she was going home to Briarwood. Another was her friends and family, a strange thought on a number of levels, not in the least of which was that she had never thought she would be the one returning home. She would have been one of the people at the airport, waiting to welcome Vida or Nick or Chip or Xander home. Instead, she was the person who had gotten out of Briarwood, and there was a part of her that still had a hard time with being the one to make it in the real world.

"Maddie!" She turned to find her Vida staring at her with an annoyed expression. "I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes. The seat belt light is on and you're getting the evil eye from the stewardess. Apparently, you're not that famous to her."

Madison fumbled with her seat belt, hiding a grin from her sister's keen gaze. To anyone else, Vida would have sounded resentful and angry when talking about her sister's achievements, but Madison caught the tinge of amused pride in her tone. "Are you that ready to go back home?"

"Shouldn't that be a question to ask yourself? You're the one going home after becoming famous."

"You know I've never minded going home, V," Madison said with a smile. "You're the one who didn't want to do it this time."

Vida rolled her eyes and stowed away her MP3 player. "I have better things to do than waste my life in Briarwood. The only reason I'm doing this is so you have some moral support."

"Moral support?"

"It's the first time you've been home since Nick got married. Of course you need moral support."

Madison sighed inaudibly. She loved Vida dearly, but her sister had tunnel vision where she was concerned. It didn't matter how many times she talked about Nick and Haven's happiness – Vida remained convinced that Nick was the one who got away for Madison in some sort of grand epic love story that she had built in her head thanks to a deeply hidden romantic streak. "I really wish I hadn't missed the wedding. I bet it was absolutely lovely."

As the plane touched down on the runaway, Vida snorted. "It was only lovely because Udonna touched it all up with magic."

"I'm sure that wasn't the only reason." She suspected that their love had cast a spell of its own on the atmosphere although to say that to Vida was to ask for teasing the rest of her life.

After that, there wasn't time for talking until they had disembarked and had started down the short hallway to get their luggage from the carousel. "Seriously, Maddie, are you going to be able to handle seeing Nick? I don't mind running interference if you want."

"Don't you think someone would notice that I'm never in the same room with him alone? It would be weird and awkward."

"It's going to be weird and awkward anyway," she said, her tone indicating that it was Madison's funeral.

As usual, Madison gave up on convincing her sister that her feelings about Nick were distinctly friendship-oriented. It was always easier to let an unwanted discussion subside when it came to Vida. No one knew quite how to beat a dead horse the way Vida did. "Do you think we'll have to wait long for our bags?"

"Are you in that much of a rush to see our parents?"

A wry voice cut into their conversation. "Maybe she's in a rush to see us, Vida."

"Nick," Madison said with a pleased smile. "I thought our dad was coming to get us."

"Chip called them and asked if we could swing by and pick you up instead. They want us to bring you home right away, but we wanted to see you first," Nick answered, gesturing toward a grinning redhead who had already rushed at Vida.

For all her complaining about being dragged home, Vida's expression was gleeful when she embraced Chip. Madison hugged Nick and Chip in quick succession. "I'm so glad to see you guys." After an extra squeeze from Chip, Madison turned, expecting to see Xander; there was no one else to greet them.

"Where's Xander?" Vida asked with a frown. She was clearly as surprised as Madison to find that their friend wasn't there.

"Oh, someone had to hold down the fort at the store," Chip said.

Madison was quick to hide her disappointment. Save for a short weekend visit in which she had spent all of five minutes with her friends, the last time Madison had been home was the summer after her senior year at NYU. It had been a great summer for the most part. The only thing missing was Xander who had spent his summer backpacking through the Australian outback, reconnecting with his birthplace even though it hadn't been his home for more than ten years. When Xander had announced it in an impersonal email to everyone he knew, he had also included the phrase "before I settle down" which tickled everyone's funny bones. The rest of them had laughed amongst themselves because the last thing they could ever imagine was Xander settling down. But once his summer of freedom was over, he did exactly that, returning to Briarwood to learn all he could from Toby and put his business degree to work, making the business a lot more successful and popular. He learned so quickly that Toby promoted him to manager and took a yearlong sabbatical to the homes of all his rock heroes before extending it indefinitely. Xander loved working with the public and trying to create customer satisfaction and Madison finally saw the reason for his business degree. Xander might have done anything – in fact, he would have made an excellent politician, lawyer, or doctor, but it was more important to him that he stick around Briarwood to help Toby.

"I hope you don't mind if we take you to Rockporium before we take you home. I promised Clare that we would bring you to see her first."

"Sure," Vida answered, not bothering to see if Madison agreed. "But what's Clare doing there?"

Chip grinned. "Once Toby went off to see the world, Xander hired her to help out. I think he waited because he was trying to avoid Toby asking weird questions."

"I thought Toby stopped asking weird questions a long time ago," Madison said with a wry smile.

"Well, you know how Xander is."

Not knowing how to respond, she glanced away uncomfortably, feeling a strange tension fill her bones. She couldn't honestly say that she knew Xander anymore. His emails were still as humorous and sweet as they had ever been, but there was a distance that they had both let grow while they pursued their lives. In high school, he hadn't minded lying to Toby about the odd things that happened. But she supposed it was hard to keep coming up with creative lies to an already suspicious Toby. The magic had faded some with the loss of their powers, but there were still a few tricks for the ex-Rangers to use – some things couldn't be unlearned.

"We should go," Vida announced, ignoring her sister's silence.

No one noticed how quiet Madison was in the car because she had always had the ability to fade into the background – it was the quality that made her an excellent documentary-maker. With a sister like Vida, it wasn't exactly the hardest thing to do. She had always been the one to hang back and observe, but had anyone asked her what was said or done between her friends during the ride, she wouldn't have been able to answer. Lost in thought, she missed the sharp glance Vida sent her way. "Maddie, are you all right?"

That question drew everyone's attention to her quietness, and Madison inwardly cursed Vida's perceptiveness when it came to her mood. "I'm fine," she said, injecting a cheerful note into her voice and hiding her annoyance with a bright smile. "I was just thinking about how nice it is to be with you guys again."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," Nick replied, nudging her affectionately. "At least that's what everyone said when you went off to make movies."

She shook her head with a small grin. "No, absence makes the heart forgot how much you love your friends. Luckily, presence cures that issue."

Vida cleared her throat, interrupting a look that she apparently judged to be too long for old friends. "You didn't miss me, Nick?" she demanded.

"You are too lively not to miss every minute of every day." Chip's odd chivalrous attempt to smooth Vida's feathers made everyone pause and then laugh to his bewilderment.

Madison's laugh was genuine as she felt a wave of relief overtake the unfamiliar tension. There was comfort to be found in the fact that Chip had hardly changed; he was still as devoted to Vida as ever. And Vida was still abrasive and Nick was just as she remembered, warm and friendly and far from the standoffish teenager he had been.

"Here we are," Chip announced, pulling into his usual parking spot.

Ignoring the murmurs of her friends, Madison hesitantly stood and stared at the familiar building. On the surface, it appeared to be exactly as she remembered it from her high school days. The red brick welcomed visitors warmly and the display in the window was a tribute to Jim Morrison, but her keen eyes picked out the newly painted sign and the addition of golden trim around the window and the door. "Are you coming, sis?" Vida called, already halfway across the street.

She hurried to catch up with the others, trying to shake off the tension which had crept back without her noticing. What if Xander had changed more than she imagined? She didn't have long to linger over the thought as Clare pounced on her as soon as she entered the store. "Maddie!" she squealed, throwing her arms around her. She babbled with excitement about a dozen topics all at once so Madison was only able to catch a word here or there.

Caught up in trying to respond to a question Clare had asked twenty sentences ago, Madison didn't notice Xander until he was suddenly in front of her with a familiar jovial grin and twinkling eyes. "Got a hug for an old friend?" he asked quietly.

"Always." She smiled at his foolish question and embraced him with trembling arms. He practically picked her up with his strong squeeze. He hadn't changed all that much though his body seemed to be more bulky and compacted than she remembered. She also didn't remember the tingling that was running down her spine when he whispered that he had missed her as he set her back down.

He kept his arm draped casually around her shoulder and asked Vida about the clubs in Los Angeles, listening with evident curiosity and asking her sister all the right questions. Madison watched his interested expression and thought that he seemed a lot more comfortable with not being the center of attention anymore. But it didn't take long for Chip to pull Vida away to show her a magic trick that he had mastered, leaving Madison alone with Xander, Nick, and Clare. In the middle of Clare's description of her first day, the cell phone in Nick's pocket rang.

Glancing at the display, he gave them all an apologetic look. "Sorry, I have to take this."

As he turned away, Clare leaned forward with a conspiratorial smirk. "It's Haven." But Madison hadn't needed the explanation since Nick's smile and tone of voice had given it away the instant he said hello. Off to the side, Madison caught her sister's unrelenting stare and stuck her tongue out at Vida. Nick's happiness with Haven was obvious, and Madison felt nothing but pleasure that her friend was so content. "I have to go call the distributor about those Kira Ford CDs. I think Vida might kill me if her pre-order doesn't come in on time."

"Guess that just leaves you and me," Xander said, his voice rumbling low.

"Just like old times," she agreed cheerfully although she was more than a little aware of his presence at her side and the weight of his arm. "Care to give me a tour?"

"It hasn't changed much."

Shaking her head, Madison contradicted him. "It's changed enough. Show me what you've done to improve the business."

He moved his arm and shifted slightly. "I haven't changed much – Toby has a good thing going. Mostly, I've moved some merchandise around and instituted a couple of events of every month with prizes. And I convinced Toby to let us sponsor a youth night every week at that nightclub on Grand."

"I bet that helped business tremendously," Madison answered with an encouraging smile, brushing off the twinge of disappointment that she felt when he moved his arm. Xander's vanity and ego had been tempered in the last few years and now he seemed to have a healthy dose of modesty. But she couldn't help wondering why his overblown confidence had changed into something more reasonable, a genuine self-confidence with an edge of deprecation.

Shrugging, he grabbed her hand and led her through the store toward the back room. "It didn't hurt business which is what Toby was worried about. I was more concerned with keeping the existing customer base and expanding the merchandise so it also appealed to the people who thought we were too offbeat for their tastes. That's what the sponsored youth nights are about – Clare usually takes a variety of CDs and sells them next to the door so the kids know that we have more than Morrissey and Duran Duran music. The in-store events have been pretty varied; sometimes it's creative stuff like designing album covers for existing albums and sometimes it's a just theme night for music. Last month, it was One Hit Wonders."

"Wow, it sounds like you've done an awesome thing here, Xander." Madison was both impressed and proud of him, and it shone through her tone.

"I guess," he said, ignoring his accomplishments in favor of opening the back door. "Come here, I want to show you something."

"It's the alley." Confused, Madison followed him out into the alley which looked almost exactly the way she remembered it. And then she noticed that part of the alleyway had been dug out and replaced with a familiar looking tree. "Xander, it's – "

"A sapling from Rootcore." He let go of her hand as she moved to examine the tree. "I thought a part of Rootcore should be brought to this world, something that'll hopefully outlast all of us."

Madison touched the leaves and rubbed the trunk where a small plaque had an inscription with the initials of the five friends, the year 2006, and a quote about friends. "It's about us," she said softly, more to the tree than to Xander.

He had moved close enough to hear her though and put his hand on hers on top of the plaque. "Even though no one else will ever know, I thought there should be something here that marks our time as Rangers. Udonna put a spell on it so it can't be cut down and while it can be moved, it can't be moved out of Briarwood."

"You thought of everything," she replied, looking at Xander and trying to ignore the tingle that was running up her arm from the gentle way he touched her hand.

"I've missed you, Maddie."

The sudden shift in topic threw her for a loop. The way he was looking at her didn't help matters either because she didn't know how to interpret the softness in his eyes or the pressure of his hand on hers. She stuttered, "I've missed you, too" and tried to look away from him.

His smile faded slightly, but he leaned closer with purpose in his eyes. "The next time you go away for years and years, do you think you can leave my heart behind?"

The severity of his tone made Madison swallow her laughter although she wasn't sure if she was laughing because the pick-up line was lame or because she found the whole thing unbelievable and a little bit ridiculous. "Xander, I don't –"

He didn't let her finish the sentence (not that she knew what she was going to say anyway). "Shh," he said, silencing her with a kiss. Madison was startled by the softness of the pressure on her lips and the gentle way he cupped her face to be as close as possible. He deepened the kiss once she relaxed enough to return the intimate embrace, his tongue slipping between her lips to taste her briefly before he retreated and pulled away.

Trying to ignore the disappointment threatening to overwhelm her senses even more than the delicious kiss had, Madison stared at her best friend. "Xander, I didn't even know you felt that way."

His smirk was wide. "And you guys say I can't keep a secret."

Madison's mind was finally starting to focus in the situation at hand again. "I don't even live here," she protested. "What do you want from me?"

"I just want you to think about it. I've had a long time to think about it and you obviously haven't. So think about it."

Annoyed by his earnest expression, she started to turn away. "Think about what?"

"Think about the possibility of you and me. That's all. We can work out the logistical issues later. Besides, maybe you'll come home more often if you have a reason to." He reached for her hand and turned her around to face him again. "Look, Maddie, I'm not asking for your hand in marriage. I'm asking if you could see being with me at some point in the future."

She wanted to believe him that it would be that easy, but she also remembered the way he kissed her with a reverence that was unexpectedly sweet. Even if all she had to go by was the way he kissed her and the way he looked at her. He hadn't quite put anything concrete into words, but Madison sensed the sincerity in his obvious affection for her. It wasn't a matter of wanting her because she wasn't there, and it wasn't a matter of Xander running out of girls to date. He genuinely cared for her as more than a friend. "Xander, I don't know what to say or how to feel right now."

He squeezed her hand and gave her one of his famous heart-stopping smiles. "Maybe you'd be willing to go out to dinner with me one night this week? Not as a date necessarily, but as a chance to think about it more."

His plea was heartfelt enough that she already knew she wouldn't be saying no to his offer. "All right, dinner one night but only because I've missed you and your friendship, Xander." She paused briefly and relented enough to say, "I will think about it, Xander."

"Maddie . . . oh!" Vida looked a little flustered to find her sister holding hands with Xander, but she quickly steamrolled over it. "Dad just called – they want us home ASAP because dinner's on the table."

"Great, I'm starved," Madison said, disentangling her fingers from Xander's. She smiled softly at him. "I'll call you later, Xander."

"Not if I call you first," he said, a touch of amusement in the callback to the way they used to say goodbye when they were much younger.

Madison felt his eyes on her even as they headed toward Chip's waiting figure. She didn't know how to describe the sweet feeling in her heart, but she knew that she already wanted to see him again.

"I hope you're not toying with Xander just to get back at Nick," Vida hissed.

"Shut up, Vida!" Madison replied, finding satisfaction in the shocked expression on her sister's face. "You don't know anything about my feelings for Xander." The truth was that Madison didn't know either, but she wouldn't give her sister that ammunition – it was better to silence her on the matter even before she started. Besides, it was much more intriguing to think about Xander's promises, spoken and unspoken.


End file.
